In Sermon Illustrations: "Ransom From Sin"

One Report States That Kids Are Media ...

Contributed by Jeremy Lane on May 15, 2010

One report states that kids are media multi-tasking 29% of the time 31% of kids say they multi-task while doing homework 8-18 year olds are exposed to 7 hours 38 minutes of media per day (with multi-tasking, turns into a total of 10 hours 45 minutes per day) 15-18 year olds spend 1 hour 51 ...read more

Tags: Media, Workplace Balance

Denomination: Independent/Bible

William Doherty On How Marriages End Up Down ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 29, 2010

William Doherty on How Marriages End Up Down River William Doherty begins his book Take Back Your Marriage with a powerfully true illustration. His office is located in St. Paul, Minnesota, not far from the farthest point north on the Mississippi River. He describes the river’s powerful but silent ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 1:10-17

Tags: Marriage Struggle

Truth Of Resurrection Grips 19th Century ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 30, 2010

Truth of Resurrection Grips 19th Century Preacher R. W. Dale preached in England in the late 1800s. One day, as he was writing an Easter sermon, a light went on for him as it did for John here in verse 8. He described the event: “‘Christ is alive,’ I said to myself; ‘alive!’ and then I ...read more

Scripture: John 20:1-18

Tags: Easter Resurrection

Mark Twain On Heaven And Hell

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jul 20, 2010

MARK TWAIN ON HEAVEN AND HELL Mark Twain gave some interesting quotes during his lifetime. One such amusing statement was, "Go to heaven for the climate, hell for the company." He along with others, do not realize how horrible hell will be. We do not hear much about hell these days from the ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 5:21-30

Tags: Hell

The Bronze Serpent

Contributed by Ed Vasicek on Aug 2, 2010

THE BRONZE SERPENT This event, the healing effected by glancing at the Copper Serpent, was so spectacular that it was probably famed region wide. According to the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs: "With the decline of Egyptian control of the region in the middle of the 12th century BCE, the ...read more

Tags: Illustration, Sheet, Gifts Healing, Children's Ministry

Denomination: Independent/Bible

I'll Miss The Challenge

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 2, 2010

I'LL MISS THE CHALLENGE A certain rabbi was adored by his community; everyone was always delighted with what he had to say. All, that is, except for Isaac, who never missed an opportunity to contradict the rabbi's point of view and point out flaws in his teachings. The others were disgusted with ...read more

Scripture: Proverbs 28:23

Tags: Character

Alex Haley, In His Book Roots, Shared The Story ...

Contributed by Curry Pikkaart on Sep 28, 2010

Alex Haley, in his book, Roots, shared the story of an old slave who one day drove his master to a great ball at an adjoining plantation. As the slave sat quietly in the buggy waiting for his master to return, he became aware not only of the sounds coming from the big house, but of strange music ...read more

Tags: Baptism

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Don't Find Us Lacking!

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 24, 2011

DON'T FIND US LACKING! Mexican jails are not known for their tidiness or orderliness. Shortly after having taken office, the then President of Mexico, Luis Echeverria, decided to do something about this. Without giving any advance notice, he chose to visit the jails at midnight. He found guards ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 25:1-13

Tags: Second Coming

On Obedience  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 12, 2011

ON OBEDIENCE "One word stands out from all others as the key to knowing God, to having His peace and assurance in your life--it is obedience." (Eric Liddell) Elisabeth Elliot tells the story of when she and her brother Tom were small children. Their mother would let Tom play with paper bags that ...read more

Scripture: 1 Samuel 15:22, 1 Peter 1:3-12, 1 Peter 3:1-12, Luke 8:16-21, Psalm 81:1-16  (view more)  (view less)

Tags: Obedience

The French Philosopher Voltaire Once Said: ...

Contributed by Jason Bonnicksen on Apr 14, 2011

The French philosopher Voltaire once said: "Faith consists in believing when it is beyond the power of reason to believe." Voltaire spoke of a form of faith that lives, breathes, and moves beyond the ordinary, to the extraordinary. In like manner, Dale Carnegie spoke of a form of living that ...read more

Tags: Zeal

Denomination: Lutheran

More Than A Golf Ball

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 27, 2011

MORE THAN A GOLF BALL Curtis Strange, one of the golfers in the Master’s Tournament, teed up on the 12th hole and hit a beautiful shot. It rolled right up and dropped in the cup for a hole-in-one. The crowd went crazy with applause and cheering. Then Curtis Strange did an interesting thing. He ...read more

Scripture: Proverbs 13:22

Tags: Character

How To Testify

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 18, 2011

HOW TO TESTIFY In the court of law before a person testifies they place their hand into the air and swear to tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth so help me God. And it is assumed that fallen man by saying that oath will tell the truth when they stand before the judge. But day in and day ...read more

Scripture: John 18:33-38

Tags: World, Truth, Kingdom

God Wants To Live In Your House

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 9, 2011

GOD WANTS TO LIVE IN YOUR HOUSE C. S. Lewis, Mere Christianity: "Imagine yourself as a living house. God comes in to rebuild that house. At first, perhaps, you can understand what He is doing. He is getting the drains right and stopping the leaks in the roof and so on: you knew that those jobs ...read more

Scripture: 1 Peter 2:4-5

Tags: Sanctification

Who's Watching?

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 7, 2011

WHO'S WATCHING? I remember the story of that man who wanted to steal a goat. He took his four children and said to them: "You hide there, you hide by my left, you hide at my back, you hide by my right. If you see anybody coming, give me a sign that I will quickly stop whatever I 'm doing." But as ...read more

Scripture: Hebrews 4:12-13

Tags: God's Omniscience

How Christians Are Different

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 12, 2011

HOW CHRISTIANS ARE DIFFERENT A Second Century believer, in a letter to his friend, Diognetus, described how Christians are alike and different from others. He wrote, "Though they are residents at home in their own countries, their behavior there is more like transients...Though destiny has placed ...read more

Scripture: 1 Peter 2:18-25

Tags: Christian Witness

Guard Duty

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 15, 2011

GUARD DUTY When I was in the U.S. Army, I remember we had to pull guard duty many times. The purpose of guard duty was to ensure that other soldiers, equipment, or areas were protected from the enemy. I can recall that in basic training, or boot camp, we had to memorize three General Orders and ...read more

Scripture: Proverbs 4:23

Tags: Heart

Poem: Ozymandias By Shelley

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 23, 2011

Poem: Ozymandias by Shelley I met a traveler from an antique land Who said: Two vast and trunkless legs of stone Stand in the desert. Near them, on the sand, Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown, And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command, Tell that its sculptor well those passions ...read more

Scripture: James 4:13-15

Tags: Power

Perfect Day For Evil

Contributed by Brad Henry on Sep 13, 2011

PERFECT DAY FOR EVIL As I gave the opening prayer at Charlotte Motor Speedway to Honor 9/11, I met this man in a Fireman’s’ uniform with a New York accent. The Speedway had flown in three men who had been First Responders that day 10 years ago. This man gave me a chilling account of his day. His ...read more

Tags: Holidays Civic

It

Contributed by Brad Henry on Dec 9, 2011

IT Each of us has an "IT" that is keeping us from joy and being free from worry. It isn't until we let go of that "IT" that we will be free. We can talk about all the steps to get out of addictions, the steps to curtail anger, animosity, jealousy, fear of death and a host of other worries and ...read more

Tags: Fear And Worry

Overwhelming Forgiveness

Contributed by Davon Huss on Dec 12, 2011

OVERWHELMING FORGIVENESS A wonderful example of how to practice the lifestyle of grace comes from an incident in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, on October 2, 2006, when a man entered an Amish schoolhouse and murdered 5 girls while wounding 5 others before killing himself. As horrific as this ...read more

Tags: Forgiveness For Others

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ